That's exactly what I was thinking. If Rockwell pays you on commission them add my name to the list. I am another one that bought mine after you recommended it and have been very happy with it. Now you have me thinking about that chain saw....

I guess I should throw my 2 cents in... I'm just like most carvers on this forum - I am self taught (with 10 years carving), and have figured many things out the "hard" way. Here are some suggestions I give other people that are trying to figure out how to get started:
- Bring the wood UP to you. Create a place that holds the log/wood up to your level. This prevents undo strain on your back and neck. I use several stations to work, my favorite is a folding ladder that I have rigged to hold logs just above waist level. Another using WillCarve's basic plan of cement blocks and 4x4s (see his picture). Its easily adjustable and fits in my confined space. And lastly I use a Workmate for anything Mid-sized (the clamping mech works great).

- Dull blades are dangerous - LEARN TO SHARPEN. Dull blades lead to applying more pressure than needed and can result in inadvertant slips.

- Use Eye, Ear, and Breathing protection. Finite particles can irritate your biology and result in nasty health conditions. In the case of whittling small objects use carving gloves (some day I hope to buy one).

- Use a urethane mallet. The act of pounding chisels is harsh on the whole body. The urethane mallets soften the transfer of vibrations from the mallet into your body. This effects your arms, shoulders, back, hips, and knees.

- When moving large obejects, find the right tools for the job. There are techniques to everything and learning how to handle large objects will assist in everything you do. Hand trucks, winches, jacks, rollers...

Wow! So full of "win" this topic is. Jeff should be a paid spokesman for the Jaw horse (I too got one after he showed me what they do). Take your time and like A mate said, bring the subject to you! While on travel, my workstation is a pile of cinderblocks. Yeah I notice it now. Leaning over it sucks!

Mahalo!

Great topic Marlene! Thank you!

Who knows? The data may lead us to wearing weighted Fannypacks for proper ballast!

Hi VampiressRN,
i used to suffer from a hurting neck after long carving session because of the head position.when you are carving standing up the problem is you have to bend your head down.that causes an over-stressing of the neck muscles.( in Germany the doctors call that very common problem "Handy-nacken" witch could be translated as "Smart phone-neck".people always bend their head down to look at the display).
i now try to rest my upper body on a raked board with some kind of pillow
another solution might be to use a climbing harness to get a more comfortable neck positioning( that looks quite funny )
my neck is now much better !!!
great thing you are doing!
best wishes
simon

Yes, Rioturban knows whet he's talking about.
I racked up a log too high & killed my neck just like that.
I still rack them up on the 4X4s but lower than the pic I showed earlier in this thread. 2 cement blocks high, 16 - 20 in high. It makes me bend over & I look straight not craning my neck.
That's why I started the palm fronds, I could carve them on a shelve at eye level.
I did this a year ago March & it still has my attention.
I don't have one but I tell all my friends to pick up their cell phone stop craning. They scoff, "I'm fine". Well so was I till I wasn't.

You guys rock, thanks for so much good info. I am going to try to build the entire survey tomorrow cause I think there is enough sharing here to be sure the topics will give us good data, plus I will have an open ended question so you can include something I may have missed.

OK Carvers I have the survey ready for use, just pm me your email address and I will get it to you now. The survey is very easy to take, thanks to Andy for testing it out. I will leave the survey open for a couple of months so I can get as many Carvers as possible. Thanks in advance for everyone's help.
_________________ "Oh waiter, another cocktail please!!!"

So far, 4 Carvers have taken the initial survey. Thank you so much, great information and your comments are extremely helpful. I will start working on some content and want to section it into well organized topics. I am also going to see if I can link up with some doctors and ergonomic specialists as I move forward.

I want to encourage more folks to take the survey so if you you know someone who carves, please tell them to PM me their email address for the link. The more information I have, the better I can address the various concerns and needs. Thank you for your patience and PM me if you think of anything else you want to share.

Have fun...those of you at Hukilau, and nice donation of a very awesome Tiki!!! Get some good pictures of that fella.
_________________ "Oh waiter, another cocktail please!!!"